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The other day,I was talking to a friend about ways to get more income this year.  What she didn’t realize is that she didn’t need to take on a new job or start a business to increase her income, it’s really much easier than that.

Here’s 5 great ways to increase your take home pay in 2009;

1. Increase your dependents on your checkstub – most people don’t realize this, but the dependents that you add on your w4 form at work is only a suggested amount, not mandatory.  I typically tell people to get their money throughout the year as opposed to one big check at tax time since the big check is like a 0% interest loan that you are giving the government.  One word of wisdom, double check with your accountant to make sure that this strategy aligns with your overall financial plan.
2. Get rid of your home phone – most people with home phones also have cell phones.  If you have a cell phone, there really isn’t a need for the home phone.  In fact, this alone can save you $30-$90 a month, which is more income at your disposal.
3. Limit your cable package – many people pay over $50 a month to enjoy the movie channels at home. This is unnecessary since there are now other options such as Netflix or Blockbuster online to take care of your movie needs.  They have packages starting under $10.
4. Increase your insurance deductible – as you know, the lower the deductible, the higher your monthly premium for the insurance.  The difference can be several hundreds of dollars every six months. Its a good idea to sit down with your agent and see what the options are.  There will come a point where the monthly savings would be worth putting the deductible in a separate bank account and participating in the lower rates.
5. Create a discretionary account for fun and play – people typically like going to the movies or other types of entertainment, or like eating out, but they don’t set a budget to doing this, so its can get out of hand.  The better way to do it is by setting a weekly fun budget that you can track and make sure money isn’t slowly leaking out of your pocket.

As you can see, these are some easy ways that you can not only increase your take home pay, but also keep more of your money while not changing your lifestyle one bit.

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